baron

[bar-uh n]

noun

a member of the lowest grade of nobility.

(in Britain)

a feudal vassal holding his lands under a direct grant from the king.
a direct descendant of such a vassal or his equal in the nobility.
a member of the House of Lords.

an important financier or industrialist, especially one with great power in a particular area: an oil baron.

a cut of mutton or lamb comprising the two loins, or saddle, and the hind legs.

Compare baron of beef.

Origin of baron

1200–50; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French < Late Latin barōn- (stemof barō) man < Germanic; sense “cut of beef” perhaps by analogy with the fanciful analysis of sirloin as “Sir Loin”

Can be confusedbarren baron baronet

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for barons

aristocrat, peer, lord

Examples from the Web for barons

Contemporary Examples of barons

Here he celebrates the heyday of Birmingham's minor league team, the Barons.
The Great Paul Hemphill Celebrates the Long Gone Birmingham Barons
Paul Hemphill
March 29, 2014
From that day on and for the next ten years Rickwood and the Barons became the core of my life.
The Great Paul Hemphill Celebrates the Long Gone Birmingham Barons
Paul Hemphill
March 29, 2014
He was even a member of his own gang in high school—the Barons.
10 Revelations About Robert Redford
The Daily Beast
May 8, 2011

Historical Examples of barons

"We are your subjects, sire," said the Gascon barons, though with no very good grace.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
The barons gained some tidings of his proceedings, and were on their guard.
Cameos from English History, from Rollo to Edward II
Charlotte Mary Yonge
His deemsters and barons are about him, and his people are on the sward below.
The Little Manx Nation - 1891
Hall Caine
Men they were who inherited the blood of the saintly Langton and of his lordly Barons.
Masterpieces of Negro Eloquence
Various
The other half went to princes, barons, and other possessors of lands, etc.
The Rise of the Hugenots, Vol. 1 (of 2)
Henry Martyn Baird

British Dictionary definitions for barons

baron

noun

a member of a specific rank of nobility, esp the lowest rank in the British Isles

(in Europe from the Middle Ages) originally any tenant-in-chief of a king or other overlord, who held land from his superior by honourable service; a land-holding nobleman

a powerful businessman or financiera press baron

English law (formerly) the title held by judges of the Court of Exchequer

short for baron of beef

Word Origin for baron

C12: from Old French, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German baro freeman, Old Norse berjask to fight

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for barons

baron

c.1200, from Old French baron (nominative ber) "baron, nobleman, military leader, warrior, virtuous man, lord, husband," probably from or related to Late Latin baro "man," of uncertain origin, perhaps from Frankish *baro "freeman, man;" merged in England with cognate Old English beorn "nobleman."